The first hint of fall blew in yesterday, with a tinge of orange on the plum trees, a chill in the air, and overcast skies. I'm delighted, because it means Chloé will (hopefully) be wearing more clothing than she has in the warmer months…teen fashion, yikes! While it’s a well known fact that teenage girls spend an inordinate amount of time on their looks, either checking themselves out in the mirror or talking about the latest styles on the phone, modern technology has brought this narcissism to new heights. Chloé can take her own picture or video on her own phone, send it to her own computer, upload it to the internet, and IM her friends so that they can see it – all in a matter of seconds.
Not unlike how this blog works, come to think of it… I’m on the fence about whether or not it’s a good thing. On one hand I can share a lot more with a lot more people in a lot less time, on the other hand I wonder: how much information is way too much information? Only time will tell, but Chloé and Wynham were both disappointed to see that they didn’t get visual coverage in my first blog entry: “What about ME???” they asked.
I remember when an instant picture was a Polaroid that you had to smear with a stick of gooey stuff to make it develop, and you had to wait a whole minute before the image would actually appear; it was like magic! A slide show required a projector, a screen, and a great deal of fiddling with equipment. Editing a movie required a console and some strong-smelling glue, and meant a pile of film leftovers on the floor. This just makes the kids shake their heads in amazement. One thing hasn't changed, though; a mirror works exactly the way it did back then, and perhaps I spent as much time in front of that reflective surface as Chloé does now. Maybe. Just maybe.
(photo by Paul Simcock)
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